Jeb Does What Bushes Do Best–LIE: This Time About Meeting #BlackLivesMatter Activists (VIDEOS)

Earlier this week, Jeb Bush was the first GOP Presidential candidate to be interrupted by #BlackLivesMatter activists. The Las Vegas town hall-style meeting ended abruptly after Bush fumbled with answering a question in relation to systematic racial inequality in the justice system. He talks nervously for a bit, mostly about dealing with things on a local level and education, before practically running off the floor.

In reaction to the deer-in-a-headlight exit, Black Lives Matter (along with Planned Parenthood, immigrant, and LBGT) activists began chanting “black lives matter” as Bush continued his hasty retreat. Some Bush supporters attempted to counter with “all lives matter” and “white lives matter,” but neither that nor the music dissuade the protesters. You can watch that below:

After the event, the Bush campaign responded by saying he had already met with Black Lives Matter activists before the event, and didn’t know what all the fuss was about. According to NBC:

Bush met privately with members of the Black Lives Matter movement prior to the scheduled town hall, according to his campaign, although they would not confirm if the activists who interrupted Bush were the same activists he had met with.

The plot thickens: flimsy lies from the 2016 GOP candidate (redundant, I know)

There’s one big problem with Bush’s assertion of meeting with activists before the town hall meeting – it didn’t happen. According to the Huffington Post:

There was a meeting, but no activists from the Black Lives Matter movement participated. Instead, Bush met with a local elected official, a GOP lobbyist and a staffer from an anti-poverty organization.

Kevin Hooks, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Urban League, told HuffPost he set up the meeting at the Bush campaign’s behest. His organization focuses on providing job opportunities for low-income residents. Hooks said that while he respects Bush for reaching out, he would not characterize the people at the meeting as Black Lives Matter activists. “It’s a little disingenuous,” he said.

And by “disingenuous,” he must mean big, fat lie. I mean, maybe Bush was confused. Maybe he just remembered meeting a black person and assumed one black person represented all causes that affect African Americans. So, either he’s a liar, a stupid racist or both.

Other Presidential candidates, most notably Bernie Sanders, have dealt with different types of protests at campaign events. Although criticized by many for his initial response, Sanders did make several changes to his campaign including a new racial justice platform. After an unsuccessful attempt to crash a Hillary Clinton event, her campaign has reached out to talk with Black Lives Matter representatives.

It seems every campaign is having a little trouble knowing how to deal with the movement and it’s unapologetic (as it should be) demand to have the issues of systematic and institutionalized racism addressed, but one response should be stupidly obvious: don’t lie about dealing with it.

Then again, Jeb Bush has already been caught lying over and over in this campaign. We really shouldn’t be surprised when Bushes lie at this point; it’s pretty much become their M.O.

Featured Image by Gage Skidmore via flickr, used and modified under Creative Commons license.

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Kai was raised in an ultra-conservative community in Texas, and began getting in trouble early on for asking too many questions in a fundamentalist private school. Kai somehow escaped the close-minded, what would now be considered tea party, environment of brainwashing and blind hatred of everything and everyone not like them to become an outspoken liberal whose mission in life was to make everyone question everything. After studying psychology, civil rights law, minority and gender studies in college and graduating with honors, Kai left Texas for a corporate job in the East Coast. As part of a mass lay-off in the 2008 economic crash, Kai then traveled around the country looking for work, eventually ending up on the West Coast and becoming involved in politics. Along with grassroots canvasing and protesting, a life-long love of writing has combined as a much-needed outlet for a lifetime of oppressive dogma and disgust over being lied to about following the system leading to success.